An exceptionally complicated and unapologetically imperfect yet ultimately heroic person who may very well have had to: step on a few toes, slit a few throats, snort a few lines, cause more than one woman to run screaming into the night, experience others questioning the underlying integrity of his actions, wonder about his own sanity, consider pledging allegiance to the other, darker side, etc. The anti-hero recognizes the world for precisely what it is, harbors no illusions as to his place within it, and adjusts his fundamental character accordingly. Lesser individuals often--and perhaps appropriately--label him a volatile outsider, and though his mind and soul are usually tortured, his heart is generally set to the right frequency. Call him a hero who knows better.

ANTI-HERO: "I don't have a cape. I can't fly. And I hold no keys to the city. I drink my breakfast, I prefer prostitutes, and I've never rescued a cat from a tree. But if you need me, if you really, REALLY need and DESERVE my help, I MAY come (NOT swoop down) to save you. Then again, I might just polish off a protein shake, some steroids, and a stale pack of menthols."

An anti-hero is a flawed hero, and therfore, much more intresting then the more traditional heros. They can be working on the side of good, but with a tradic flaw, or a horrible past, or for reasons that are selfish and not intirely "pure". They can also be working for the side of evil, but with hidden noble intentions, or other underlying complexities. These darker heros can be jerks, pathetic, hard, jaded, or mean. However, all anti-heros must have enought heroic qualitys, intentions, or strenth (physical including attracktivness or mental) to somehow gain the sympathy of the audiance. Mostly they are intriguing and can therefore can be very, very, SEXY especialy if you love bad boys (girls). Well known anti-heros include Batman (yay Batman Begins), Angle, Draco Malfoy, and well...Napoleon Dynamite (sorry not a hot example).

Hero: I see the brave, shinning, world of tommorow!
Anti-hero: You must be delusional... And your cape's on backwards.

A protagonist that lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero. Quite simply, antiheros rock. Most of them are social outcasts, who have no desire for foolish things such as 'friendship' or 'trust'. An antihero can be a jerk, or even have every characteristic of a villain, but because success wouldn't be possible without their help, they are still considered good guys. Due to the fact that antiheros are not stupid, they probably won't do anything helpful unless they are paid, or unless there is some fine huny connected with the plot. Antiheros are 97% better off than most people in the world, in the way that, they are good guys, but they're not stupid, and they actually give a damn about money.

Hero: Oh no! I seem to be suspended upside-down over boiling lava, while several incredibly hot, young, teenage girls are being held hostage!
Hot teenage girl: Somebody save me! I'm so hot, young, and defenseless!
Antihero: Never fear! the antihero is here!
Using hella sweet kung-fu, the antihero subdues all of the hostage takers, frees the hostages, briefly makes out with a hot, young, teenage girl, and then frees the hero (after stealing his wallet).
Hero: Thanks to you the day is saved!
Antihero: Yes, yes it is. I rock. Pay me. Now.
But, as the antihero waits to get paid, he hears the sirens of police cars. Knowing that he is wanted in three states for identity theft, and impersonating George W. Bush, he hops onto his motorcycle, and drives off into the sunset, only to return another day.

Someone who is suposed to be the hero, but has a lack of hero qualities, which would means he or she isn't pretty, brave or strong or whatsoever a hero should be.
The Antihero is someone with some of the qualities of a villain, up to and including brutality, cynicism, and ruthlessness, but with the soul or motivations of a more conventional Hero.

The anti-hero is the hero who does the right thing, albeit with tactics that aren't always what you would call ethical. They are more interested with getting the job done than doing it as virtuously as possible, therefore showing how morally ambiguous they are. The anti-hero has become more popular with society today because people can identify better with the good-guy who sometimes does the not-so-good things; the hero who does no wrong is outdated and is becoming increasingly irrelevant in this day and age. They are the product of a society in which the line between good and bad is becoming harder to tell.

Someone in life or in art who does the right (good, moral or noble) thing but for WRONG (short-sighted, self centred or just plain selfish) reasons.

Anti-Hero-Clint Eastwood in almost all of his Western's.

Anti Heroes- Beavis and Butthead in the episode where they save a man who has crashed in a light plane. They try to flag down a car so they can go and get a camcorder to film the wreck and sell it to television.

In the process they inadvertently alert the emergency services who save the man.

Subsequently they appear on "Rescue 911" where they are portrayed as bonafide heroes.